In celebration of Oscar Season, we will be giving away a total of 10 Classic DVDs/Blu-Rays this month — a mix of Oscar Winners, Oscar Noms, and cinematic masterpieces that pre-date the Oscars — all courtesy of Kino Lorber! And to make it even more interesting, each of our contest winners will be able to choose their prize from the list of 17 classics below. Some tough choices, I know — they’re all incredible films — but hopefully that’ll be part of the fun… decisions, decisions, decisions!

That said, right now we’ll be giving away 8 prizes via this Twitter version of the contest (another blog post will follow later this week, in which we’ll be giving away 2 more prizes via our Facebook/Blog version of the contest). And, yes, you can enter both contests to stack the odds in your favor! And, for those of you who don’t have Twitter, there is an alternate way to enter below…

In order to qualify to win one of these prizes via this Twitter contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, February 25 at 10PMEST. However, the sooner you enter, the better chance you have of winning, because we will pick two winners on four different days within the contest period, via random drawings, as listed below… So if you don’t win the first week that you enter, you will still be eligible to win during the following weeks until the contest is over.

February 4: Two Winners

February 11: Two Winners

February 18: Two Winners

February 25: Two Winners

We will announce each week’s winner on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub (or this blog, depending how you entered), the day after each winner is picked at 10PM EST — for example, we will announce our first week’s winners on Sunday February 5 at 10PM EST.

If you’re also on Facebook, please feel free to visit us at Classic Movie Hub on Facebook for additional giveaways (or check back on this Blog in a few days) — because we’ll be giving away TWO MORE prizes via Facebook/Blog as well!

Here are the titles up for grabs:

SEPARATE TABLES (1958)directed by Delbert Mann, and starring Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, David Niven and Burt Lancaster (Blu-Ray or DVD); Winner of 2 Academy Awards for Best Actor (Niven) and Best Supporting Actress (Wendy Hiller). Nominated for 5 more Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Kerr) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Terrence Rattigan and John Gay).

WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957)directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton (Blu-Ray or DVD); Nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Laughton) and Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester).

JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961)directed by Stanley Kramer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy and Marlene Dietrich (only DVD is available); Winner of Two Academy Awards including Actor in a Leading Role (Maximilian Schell) and nominated for eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

COMING HOME (1978)directed by Hal Ashby, and starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight and Bruce Dern (Blu-Ray or DVD); Won three Academy Awards for Best Actress (Jane Fonda), Actor (Jon Voight) and Original Screenplay, and earned eight Academy Award nominations.

LILIES OF THE FIELD (1963) directed by Ralph Nelson, and starring Sidney Poitier (only DVD is available); Nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and winner of the Best Actor Oscar (Sidney Poitier, In the Heat of the Night).

BAD GIRL (1931)directed by Frank Borzage, and starring James Dunn, Sally Eilers and Minna Gombell (only Blu-Ray is available); Academy Award Nominee for Best Picture and Winner of Two Academy Awards for Best Director (Borzage) and Best Writing and Adaption (Edwin J. Burke). Based on the Novel by Viña Delmar (The Awful Truth) and play by Brian Marlow (Supernatural).

DAVID & BATHSHEBA (1951)directed by Henry King, and starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward (only Blu-Ray is available); Nominated for five Oscars including Best Screenplay by Philip Dunne (The Robe) and Best Cinematography by four-time Academy Award winner Leon Shamroy (Planet of the Apes).

YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (1963)directed by Vittorio De Sica, and starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni (Blu-Ray or DVD); Winner of the Best Foreign Language FilmOscar at the 1964 Academy Awards.

SUNFLOWER (1970)directed by Vittorio De Sica, and starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni (only Blu-Ray is available); An Oscar nominee for Best Score (Henry Mancini), Sunflower is a grandly emotional melodrama featuring a stunning performance from Sophia Loren.

MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE (1964)directed by Vittorio De Sica, and starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni (only Blu-Ray is available); One of the most famous, and funniest, Italian comedies of all time, Marriage Italian Style received Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress for Sophia Loren.

NOSFERATU (1922) directed by F. W. Marnau, and starring Max Schreck (Blu-Ray or DVD); This film pre-dates the Academy Awards, but it is widely regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema, and that’s good enough for us!

METROPOLIS (1927)directed by Fritz Land, and starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gustav Froelich, Alfred Abel and Brigitte Helm (Blu-ray or DVD); This film pre-dates the Oscars, but it is one of the most celebrated movies in cinema history, and is regarded as a pioneering work of the science-fiction genre.

CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920)directed by Robert Wiene, and starring Freidrich Feher, Lil Dagover, Werner Krauss and Conrad Veidt (Blu-ray or DVD); This film pre-dates the Oscars, but it is considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema.

DESTINY (1921)directed by Fritz Lang, and starring Lil Dagover, Bernhard Goetzke and Walter Janssen (Blu-Ray or DVD); This film pre-dates the Oscars, but it widely regarded for its rich special effects and its Expressionistic frame story.

DR. MABUSE THE GAMBLER (1922)directed by Fritz Lang, and starring Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Aud Egede Nissen (Blu-Ray and DVD); This film pre-dates the Oscars, but is regarded as a truly legendary silent film that had a major impact on the development of the crime thriller.

Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair in Marty

…..

ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, Febrary 25 at 10PM EST — BUT remember, the sooner you enter, the more chances you have to win…

1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post

2) ThenTWEET (not DM) the following message:
Just entered to win the “Kino Lorber Oscar Celebration” #DVDGiveaway courtesy of @KinoLorber and @ClassicMovieHub

THE QUESTION:Which of the above films would you like to win and why?

*If you do not have a Twitter account,you can still enter the contest by simply answering the above question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog — BUT PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ADD THIS VERBIAGE TO YOUR ANSWER: I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.

Woohoo! Another great giveaway with great choices! I like foreign films but don’t seem to watch very many. Since YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (1963) is the only one on DVD, I will have to go with that one…as if forced into a Second Rate choice…HA! Two great actors and a Best Film Award to boot! I’d say a First Rate choice! Thanks Kino Lorber.

I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.

And, just curious, Annmarie, how old does a film have to be to be considered Classic? Like I was surprised to see Coming Home and Lilies of the Field included which are within my lifetime? So does that mean I am a Classic?? 😉

And good question about ‘classic’… typically CMH goes by the ‘classic-era’ parameter which means films up through 1969 — but the two post-1969 titles that Kino offered us, where too good to pass up!… plus they still had a classic connection via their stars… 🙂

When I look at this impressively varied list of Oscar-winning and nominated films, the 2 biggest things that come to mind are: 1) How many of these films are fascinating muti-faceted character studies and 2) How much of these stories are also investigations and explorations of the moral questions and fears of their own time expressed through great character monologues, as well as visibly represented through stellar set design.

Since there are many films on that list that are amazing, I would have to pick Metropolis because for a film made in 1927, it still manages to speak many volumes about its story, especially about the differences between the rich who live lives of splendor, and the poor who live underground. It remains painfully important in the history of cinema.

I could also for:
Nosferatu
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Marriage, Italian Style
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Coming Home

I would either like to win Lilies the Field or Metropolis. Lilies of the Field starred Sidney Poitier & he the best actor Oscar for it & Metropolis is one of the most celebrated films in cinema history. Thanks for a chance to win. : )

I’d like to win DR. MABUSE THE GAMBLER, because it is one of the classics of the silent era, and it was the beginning of pulp super villain cinema. I’ve been waiting to see it either on the big screen or on blu-ray.

I would like to win the movie “Metropolis.” I first learned of this movie when I saw it written up in an issue of “Spacemen” magazine in the mid 1960s. While I have seen abbreviated public domain versions of this movie, Kino’s complete blu-ray version would be a treasure.

DAVID & BATHSHEBA. It reminds me of my great uncle and grandfather who would always watched these types of movies, with shelves full of them; the Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, the Bible, Samson and Delilah, the Apostle Paul, the Walls of Jerusalem. And out of everyone in our family, besides my mom, they knew I was the one that was/is passionate about the classics. I just want to create those same memories with my own family in the future.

Witness for the Prosecution. Dietrich and Laughton could each carry a film, together they would have to be magnificent, as attested to by the 6 nominations. I just can’t believe I haven’t seen it already. So many films (and books), so little time.

I would like to win Marty because I enjoyed Ernest Borgnines performance. It almost seems like he isn’t even acting, Its like he really is Marty. If you haven’t seen this Best Picture Winner you should watch it today!!!

I would like to win the Marty Blu-ray because it’s one of my favorite dramas ever. The performances are top-notch, especially Borgnine. I’ve found the story to be very moving and enjoyable, and I would like to see it again in its best possible presentation.

I would like to win YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (1963) on DVD because it’s just so fun to watch, especially when Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni just work so well together. They have great chemistry and are equally charismatic and great actors!

This decision is tough, but of all the choices about I would love to receive Elmer Gantry. I have yet to see the film, but I am a big fan of both Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons. I would love to own this picture & see Lancaster in his Oscar-winning role & Jean in all her glory. 🙂

Marriage Italian Style because last year I read Sophia Loren’s autobiography, “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” and absolutely fell in love with her. I hadn’t seen any of her Italian movies so after reading the book I watched as many as I could get my hands on and “Marriage Italian Style” was by far my favorite. I would love to add it to my collection to watch whenever I want. Thank you!

Witness for the Procecution is truly agreat film, its funny, suspenseful and has a great twist at the end. Charles Laughton is great as Sir Wilfird Robarts, Elsa Lanchester wonderful as Sir Wilfrid’s nurse Miss Plimsoll and then Tyrone Power as Leonard Vole acts like he’s not even there.
Best mystery/courtroom drama ever!

Metropolis, eh? Kino has two, we talkin’ The Complete Metropolis, the Moroder presentation – or the blu-ray bundle of *both*? As a music fan, the latter holds intrigue; as a film fan, one of the elusive classics of SF is hard to deny. Metropolis!

A tough decision, for sure. So many good movies. However, I would have to choose the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Blu-Ray over the others. I have not seen this film in a very long time and I would like to add it to my classic horror collection. Thank you.

I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.

JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961).
The fictional reenactment of a post-World War II adjudications, the story grabs your attention and doesn’t relent, not always true for a court-procedural movie. The plot, an American military tribunal in post-WWII Germany tries four Nazi judges for alleged war crimes, is compelling enough. However the movie’s theme– i.e. blind ego and nationalism having far-reaching, devastating and inhumane consequences–resonates today.

Along with Best Picture, the performers including Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Shell (who won for Best Actor), Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, and so on, should win for Outstanding Performances by a Cast (a la the SAG Awards, non-existent then).

Director, Stanley Kramer, challenges audiences to balance their minds and their hearts: to see both sides as the judges do and keep us guessing as to how the tribunal will rule, making JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG a suspenseful thriller as well as a historical drama.

Atrocities against humanity in the hands of those who will set a precedent for the future but must somehow maintain objectivity sometimes becomes an overwhelming burden for all involved. When faced with the Nazi rationalization vs. the mounting evidence of Holocaust survivors, Kramer forces moviegoers to sit on the bench with Spencer Tracy and the other judges and weigh the evidence, provided mainly through testimony instead of graphic images.

Hi Wendy, thanks for posting this insightful comment. Please remember to tweet the message or let us know here if you don’t have a twitter account, if you want to be officially entered into the contest. Thanks!

So difficult, I absolutely love David Niven and Terrence Rattigan. But, I would have to plump for Witness for the Prosecution. Dietrich is absolutely mesmerising, and Billy Wilder is genius. Fabulous cinema.

I’d have to pick Marty, an unpretentious, wonderful independent film that proves that a movie doesn’t necessarily have to be filled with “beautiful” people. A great story with great performances – not only from Borgnine, but also the supporting cast.

I’d pick ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ and ‘Nosferatu’. ‘Witness’ bc it’s Billy Wilder, and also when I tried to record this on TCM once they aired a completely different movie instead, lol. ‘Nosferatu’ because I’d love to see a great copy of it. Saw part of it as a child and got completely spooked. I guess enough time’s gone by to revisit this one!